(1) Field of the Invention
This invention concerns RFID driven display system networks, network components, and methods for using the RFID driven display networks and components to track assets in various applications such as manufacturing, logistical and retail environments. The RFID driven display networks include components such as wireless displays (visual RFID tags), multi-antenna wireless RFID readers, central control stations, wireless hubs and so forth that operate together to provide and update visual information displayed on dynamic displays so as to provide useful information to a central processing station monitoring assets associated with one or more RFID and/or to provide useful information to persons viewing information on the displays.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Radio frequency identification tags (RFID tags) have many different practical applications. The applications for RFID tags continue to grow as the tag size decreases and as the tag versatility and read ranges increase. However, there are still constraints that prevent the use of RFID tags in particular applications or that make their use prohibitively expensive.
One area where RFID tag use can be prohibitively expensive is in the monitoring of moving assets such as carts, dollies and so forth in manufacturing or logistic applications. Using RFID tags on moving assets typically requires the use of many RFID tag readers, antennas, communication hubs and so forth many to all of which have to be hard wired to a power source and possibility to one another. Moreover, the interrogation and read range of RFID tag readers are somewhat limited and, therefore many readers must be installed to cover all areas where RFID tags might be placed in in typical manufacturing or logistical applications.
Another application where RFID tags are not commonly used or where their use can be prohibitively expensive is in applications where displays are used that are driven by RFID tag interrogation data such as retail store shelves where products located on shelves are tagged with an RFID tag. Such an application requires a great many readers and displays all of which typically need to be hard wired to a power source and potentially to each other and/or to a central control station. The need for many RFID tag readers and the need to have the network components to a power source can make such systems too expensive to install in retail applications. There is a need, therefore, for new RFID network solutions and new network components that make RFID driven display networks cheaper to install and/or more versatile and/or that can provide real-time visual feedback to a user or retail customer based upon collected RFID tag interrogation data.